Azul Linhas Aéreas Denied Slots At London Heathrow Airport

According to Airport Coordination Limited (ACL) report, Brazilian carrier Azul Linhas Aéreas applied for slots at London Heathrow Airport and was denied. The slots requested were for the Winter 2023 (W23) season, which runs from October 29 to March 30, 2024.

Attempted expansion to London

Azul, a Brazilian carrier founded by David Neeleman, has been slowly attempting to expand its international network. The airline launched flights to Paris-Orly less than two months ago using its Airbus A350s, and, according to Air Data News, Azul was attempting to expand to the United Kingdom. An Airport Coordination Limited (a company that manages airport slots at airports worldwide) report states Azul requested 308 slots at London Heathrow Airport but was granted none.

Photo: Lukas Souza | Simple Flying

The slot application at Heathrow was made discreetly, as Azul had never publicly expressed interest in flying to London. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the carrier announced flights to New York from its hub at Viracopos International Airport. The plan was to fly daily to New York, but the pandemic halted those plans, and the carrier has not announced anything since, though sources have informed Simple Flying that the carrier plans to launch JFK flights in October.

Azul’s international network

In February, Azul announced the launch of a new route from its hub at Tancredo Neves International Airport (CNF), commonly known as Confins, to the Dutch-Caribbean island of Curação (CUR). Starting June 24, the carrier will operate one weekly flight to CUR on Saturdays. The return flight will leave CUR on Sundays at 08:30 and arrive in CNF at 16:00.

Click here for Confins – Curacao flights.

Currently, Azul flies to six international destinations in five countries. From its VCP hub, the airline offers flights to Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Orlando (MCO), Lisbon (LIS), and Paris (ORY). Azul serves Punta del Este (PDP) and Montevideo (MVD) from Porto Alegre, and flights from CNF to FLL and CUR are launching later this month. From Recife, Azul flies to MCO, FLL, and MVD, and from Manaus (MAO), it flies to FLL.

Click here for Campinas – Paris flights.

Photo: Lukas Souza | Simple Flying

Azul’s international routes are operated by almost every aircraft type in its fleet. The carrier relies heavily on its Airbus A330s for its long-haul operations, but its two A350s are deployed to Paris. Currently, the airline has three Airbus A330-200s in operation and another five A330-900s, with a further four to be delivered. The Embraer E195 and E195 E-2 are used on flights from Porto Alegre, and the Airbus A320neos on flights from northern Brazil and CNF.

From South America to London

One of Azul’s competitors, the LATAM Airlines Group, also requested 308 slots at Heathrow during winter and was granted 220. The slots were awarded to the Peruvian branch of LATAM, which will launch Lima-London flights. LATAM Brasil already operates daily flights between São Paulo and London using its fleet of Boeing 777-300ERs. oneworld carrier British Airways also flies the route daily using its Airbus A350-1000s.